What Are The Signs Of Diabetes? Know If You Have Diabetes

How to know if you have diabetes? What are the signs of diabetes? 

Well, the typical diabetes warning signs begin with blood glucose levels shooting up. Oftentimes, the early indicators are so subtle that you don’t pick them up. This is especially true for people with type 2 diabetes. It is the long-term complications that become the warning signs that someone has it. In case of type 1 diabetes, symptoms often appear between a few days to a few weeks. Moreover, their severity has increased to a significant extent.

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Signs To Know If You Have Diabetes

Here are ten diabetes warning signs caused by hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). If any of these symptoms continue or worsen, you should see a doctor.

Urinating often

Increased thirst and urine are early indicators of diabetes. This is due to two primary factors. When blood sugar levels are excessive, the first thing the body does is try to flush it out through the kidneys. Second, fluid is drawn from the tissues and into the bloodstream when blood sugar levels are too high. Because the kidneys must filter more blood, the body must create more urine to get rid of the extra fluid. Frequent urination can be very annoying. But, it is a warning sign of diabetes you should not ignore.

A rise in appetite and thirst level

Extreme thirst and hunger are common complaints among people with diabetes. You’ll start to feel a growing desire to eat. While your blood sugar levels are fine, your cells are going hungry. Because you don’t have enough insulin to transport the glucose into them.

Because your body is losing so much water through urination, you may feel an increase in thirst. Are you always parched? Then it could be because your body is having trouble metabolizing sugar. Additionally, your mouth may become painfully dry.

Exhaustion and weariness

Tiredness and fatigue are typical diabetic symptoms. Several explanations come to mind for this phenomenon. First, dehydration from high blood sugar can cause sleepiness. Second, diabetes makes the body work harder to digest glucose, causing fatigue. The third cause of weariness is erratic blood sugar levels. Feelings of weakness and fatigue are common symptoms of low blood sugar.

Effortless reduction in body fat

Unintentional weight loss is an early indicator of diabetes. Losing weight quickly and unexpectedly might not seem like a big deal at first. But it could mean that your body is having trouble processing glucose. Diabetes happens when the body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use it properly. So, instead of being used for energy, glucose builds up in the blood. The gradual breakdown of muscle and fat stores for fuel might result in weight loss over time. Unintentional weight loss should prompt a visit to the doctor. Because it could be an indicator of diabetes.

Vision impairment Diabetic Symptom

Diabetic retinopathy can cause vision problems. And total blindness is a possible outcome in extreme circumstances. This happens when the small blood vessels in the retina, a part of the eye that senses light, get harmed. This may happen because of high blood sugar levels.

You may not notice symptoms of diabetic retinopathy until it has gotten worse. Diabetic retinopathy often has no symptoms or rather mild ones in its early stages. Blurred vision and trouble seeing in the dark are just the beginning of the problems. They may increase as the disease advances. One of the leading causes of blindness in adults is diabetic retinopathy. However, timely treatment and routine checkups can keep it under control.

Vaginal infections in Diabetic women

Repeated episodes of thrush, and other vaginal infections are common in diabetic women. This is because yeast and bacteria can thrive in the presence of increased blood sugar.

Moreover, diabetes can alter the vaginal environment in ways that facilitate infection. Vaginal alkalinization has been linked to diabetes and other metabolic disorders. This can make conditions ideal for the proliferation of yeast and other microorganisms.

Lastly, diabetes can harm blood vessels, which can cause reduced blood flow. It results in an increase in sweat and moisture in the vaginal area. This is a perfect breeding ground for microorganisms like bacteria and yeast.

The Skin Absorbs Toxins

A disorder called Acanthosis nigricans causes dark, velvety skin. It can also affect the elbows, knees, and other folds of the body, but is most common in the armpits, neck, and groin. Acanthosis nigricans can affect anyone. However, it is more frequent in those with diabetes or who are overweight. It’s a marker for increased diabetes risk and has been linked to insulin resistance.

Wounds or cuts take a long time to heal

Diabetics can experience a prolonged healing process for even minor cuts and wounds. Diabetes reduces blood flow, oxygen, and nutrient delivery due to nerve and blood vessel damage. The wound’s natural defenses and ability to heal get compromised as a result. High blood sugar may damage adjacent small blood vessels. That in turn may deprive the wound of oxygen and nutrition.

Diabetes destroys nerves, making pain and other feelings harder to detect. Since this is the case, it is very uncommon for wounds to go untreated until they get infected. If the infection spreads, it will be much harder to treat the wound. The healing process slows much further when diabetes causes poor circulation.

Continual Illnesses

There are many factors that make diabetics more vulnerable to getting sick. The extra sugar in their urine offers a fertile environment for bacteria. This leads to recurrent urinary tract infections. The urethra is a portal for bacteria to enter the urinary tract and proliferate in the bladder.

Diabetics are more likely to get cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection. Diabetics often have dry, itchy skin, which can lead to skin cracks where germs can enter. Diabetes also weakens the immune system, making it harder to fight off sickness. So, diabetics are more likely to contract a variety of infections.

Tension in the legs and feet

High blood sugar levels damage nerves, causing tingling or numbness in the feet or legs. This is a life-threatening diabetic condition.

Tingling or moderate pain is often the initial symptom of nerve injury. However, irreversible nerve injury might cause insensitivity or paralysis. Blood sugar metabolism issues damage neural tissue. This can cause nerve cell-toxic inflammation and toxin buildup. Nerve damage can be repaired surgically in some instances. However, injured nerve tissue can not spontaneously repair itself. Diabetic neuropathy is a debilitating disorder since it worsens over time.

Early Signs Of Diabetes – Men Vs Women

Men and women experience similar symptoms when suffering from diabetes. Men are more likely to get diabetes. But women are more likely to endure its long-term complications. Constant urination, weariness, disorientation, and loss of weight are also common. But, there are a few early warning signs that are different in diabetic men and diabetic women. 

Signs Of Diabetes In Men And Women

Muscle atrophy and vaginal thrush are symptoms more commonly experienced by males. Polycystic ovarian syndrome, urinary tract infections, and vaginal yeast infections. These are common in women.

Many potentially fatal consequences can arise from poorly treated diabetes. Among these are limb loss, nerve damage, eye damage, heart illness, and renal failure. Diabetic men may suffer damage to nerves, muscles, and blood vessels. Hence, 45 percent of diabetic men have trouble getting and keeping an erection. But women may have mental health problems, heart disease, and kidney disease. As a result, the risk to women is significantly higher than for men.

Menopause is an extra challenge for women with diabetes. That happens when diabetes and hormonal shift get together. The result might be high blood sugar, weight gain, and trouble sleeping. Because of this, preexisting health conditions may worsen and new difficulties may emerge.

Diabetic men may get a lower body mass index or have trouble getting an erection and lose muscle mass. A possible reason is the drop in testosterone levels that happens after middle age.

Women with diabetes, meanwhile, are at increased risk for complications including heart disease. Therefore, diabetes has diverse effects on men and women. And it can cause devastating health problems for both sexes.

Know If You Have Diabetes – Risk Factors

While the symptoms of both types of diabetes are similar, those of type 2 are more subtle. This is why some people with type 2 diabetes may have to wait even longer than 10 years for a diagnosis. Type 1 diabetes symptoms show up soon after birth or in early childhood. Type 2 diabetes symptoms may not show up until a person is in their 40s.

Among the many possible risk factors for diabetes are:

• Your risk rises as you become older
• White people over the age of 40 are at a higher risk. There is an increased risk if you are over the age of 25 and of African-Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian descent.
• Having a parent, sibling, or child with diabetes increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by two to six times.
• The likelihood of developing diabetes is boosted by hypertension.
• A higher chance of acquiring diabetes is associated with heart disease.
• Prediabetes is characterized by elevated blood sugar levels that fall short of the threshold for type 2 diabetes. The decline can be halted by adopting a healthier lifestyle, which includes eating better and doing more exercise.
• When a woman who has never had diabetes before becomes pregnant, she may develop gestational diabetes. The likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes in the future is raised in those with a history of gestational diabetes.
• When combined with other health issues, diabetes can be extremely challenging to manage. Many factors have been related to diabetes and its many subtypes. See a doctor right away if you have any of the warning signs of diabetes. Diabetes can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.

Conclusion

It’s important to know if you have diabetes. Recognize the early signs of diabetes. Get checked if you are 45 or older, or if you have any of the other risk factors. 

Visit a doctor immediately if you see the following diabetes warning signs. Feel dizzy, weak, and thirsty; Urinate a lot; Have a bad stomach ache; Breathe faster than usual; Have sweet breath that smells like nail polish remover.

A doctor can teach you to manage your condition and handle the difficulties that come with being a diabetic. And you can look forward to living a satisfying and healthy life.